Getting Marriage License- More Meaningful Experience Than Thought

Just got back from getting my marriage license from the Town Clerk with my partner. It was a super simple process and took about 15 minutes, but I wasn't expecting it to be as meaningful to me as it was. I know each jurisdiction has different requirements for applicants. Ours simply required an original birth certificate, photo ID, and a completed 1-page form. There was something about registering our marriage with the local government that made things feel incredibly formal and real to me. Sure, all the event planning has made this real... Sure, all the money flying out of our bank accounts has made this real... Sure, the bachelor parties, the vendor correspondence, the RSVPs, etc. all made this real, too.... but this was the first time that our names, as a couple going to marry, were submitted to governmental entities to be recognized. Wow. As a gay couple, my partner and I were especially grateful that this process went smoothly for us. While the laws of the land have changed in our country, both of us disclosed to one another that in the back of our minds we were worried that the Town Clerk would refuse to grant us a marriage license and refuse to recognize our relationship. While we live in NY, we are not in the city and reside in an area where gay couples aren't always welcomed everywhere. Today's signing of the marriage license meant more to me than simply jumping through a bureaucratic hoop to get married... It was meaningful. Powerful. It was a message to me that our relationship mattered and that our marriage was going to be recognized by the law and not just our family and friends who are in constant support of us. It reminds me of how precious this opportunity to be married really is. How valuable the support and legal backing can be. How validation of a couple's love can be recognized and how powerful it feels when it is. We feel grateful that we were not turned away today, despite our fears. We feel honored and proud that our relationship is able to be recognized. And we are so humbled by the many staff voices shouting "Congratulations!" to us as we left the Town Clerk's office. This experience- though just a hoop in the process for some- was really powerful to me and my partner. It made everything real and excited us even further for our upcoming wedding on August 10th. Did any of you feel anything when you registered for your marriage license? What was your experience?